Could it be that the rotation of defenders is leaving someone on the sidelines?

The Montreal Canadiens and their surplus of young defensemen can be viewed as a negative or a positive.

It depends on how Kent Hughes sees it and what his plans are for the future. There is a group of four or five defensemen that could play in Montreal this season. I would say David Savard, Mike Matheson and Kaiden Guhle are the three defensemen that are likely to get a regular spot.

With Johnathan Kovacevic gone, there’s a spot open, but that doesn’t make things any easier. There’s still a group of five defensemen who can play consistent minutes with Montreal. With only four spots available, unless Savard is traded, there’s going to be an odd one out every night.

In my opinion, this raises the question whether keeping the group of young boys intact will hamper the developmental course of the group?

I think Lane Hutson is going to be a standout in camp and I don’t think his game needs development in the American Hockey League. If he plays in Laval, he’ll be playing with players who aren’t at his level and I think that will work against him. Savard seems like the ideal partner to pair with the rookie, as he’s worked well with Arber Xhekaj and Kaiden Guhle.

This would leave two open spots for the group of Jordan Harris, Jayden Struble, Justin Barron, and Arber Xhekaj. I would argue for Xhekaj in the lineup because he brings a mix of physicality and size that the others don’t have. However, he’s also shown more substance to his game and having him in the press box just doesn’t make sense.

I think Xhekaj should have a permanent spot, but you could argue that Jordan Harris deserves one too and if it wasn’t for his injuries, Struble would have stayed in Laval. Struble didn’t stay in Laval though and he’s proven he has the chops to compete in the NHL. So if things play out the way they did in 2023-24, Barron is the odd man out.

But as we know, it only takes one good offseason for a player to really blossom, and given that Barron brings a coveted right-handed defenseman to the fold, I’m not sure Montreal wants him on the bench. I also think Hutson needs isolation, so trading Savard to free up a spot for Barron, at least immediately, doesn’t seem like a good idea. So I think whoever is least impressive in training camp will be the one in the press box.

The 2025-26 training camp in Montreal will be a different story, with Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom likely hot on the heels of their NHL counterparts. But that’s a story for another day.